What’s News in Markets: A Tasty Pizza, Promising Drug, High Spirit(s)
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Hey, listeners.
How did the market perform on this year’s Leap Day and February gains?
It's Saturday, March 2nd. I'm Francesca Fontana for The Wall Street Journal, and this is What's News in Markets, our look at the biggest stock moves of the week and the news that drove them. Let's get to it. Happy belated leap day, everybody. The bonus day gave the stock market an extra chance to build on February's gains. If we look at the historical probability, it was actually more likely that this year's leap day wouldn't end in gains. Both the S&P 500 and the Dow have posted losses on the last three leap days when the markets were open.
Why did Domino’s “Emergency Pizza” promotion boost sales and rewards sign-ups?
But not this year. No, this year, all three major indexes ended in the green and the Nasdaq had its first record close in over two years. Plus, the S&P and the Nasdaq both had their best February's since 2015. Now, check back with me in four years and we'll see if we can keep the Leap Day streak going. Now, my deepest apologies in advance if you're listening to this while hungry, because we are talking pizza stocks, specifically Domino's Pizza. The big takeaway from its quarterly report on Monday was that customers have a growing appetite for Domino's. The company posted a better-than-expected profit thanks to both strong delivery and carry-out sales.
What financial results and stock reaction followed Domino’s quarterly report?
And, of course, it's quote-unquote emergency pizza, the big buy-one-get-one-free promotion where you could earn a whole second pizza, with part of the catch being you had to join the Domino's Rewards Program. The campaign was a big hit, and the company's CEO said that growing reward sign-ups helped them deliver such strong results. And I've got some numbers for you. The program got 3 million new active members in the fourth quarter to end 2023 with 33 million active members. So Wall Street was pretty pleased with Domino's results, and a hike of its quarterly dividends certainly didn't hurt either. The stock jumped nearly 6% on Monday and only gave back some of those gains the rest of the week. And now I'm hungry.
See?
How did Viking Therapeutics’ obesity drug trial compare to Ozempic and tirzepatide?
There was also big news from Viking Therapeutics this week. You might not recognize the name if you're not a big follower of biotech or pharma stocks, but you probably have been hearing about weight loss drugs. I mean, we've all seen the Ozempic commercial, right? So right now, the two big weight loss players are Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk. But Viking emerged as a new competitor when it announced positive study results of its obesity medication. Now, I'm not a scientist. Surprise.
Why did Viking’s stock more than double after its mid‑stage study results?
I know. But basically, the mid-stage study showed that Viking's drug helped patients lose up to 14.7% of their weight after 13 weeks of treatment. so it seemed to work more effectively than similar meds from EY Willie and Novo Nordisk. But keep in mind, Viking will have to replicate the results in another larger study before it can go to market. But still, the results are good news for the drug's prospects, and maybe even better news for Viking's stock. Its shares more than doubled on Tuesday, jumping 121%. With a bonkers move like that, it's not surprising that some of that frenzy faded later in the week, but Viking held onto most of those gains. Now, if slash when this new drug enters the market, I want to see if they can come up with a catchier song than that Ozempic jingle.
And I was going to sing it, but I'm going to spare you all from having it stuck in your head the rest of the day. You're welcome.
What’s behind the Boeing–Spirit AeroSystems talks and how did markets react?
And let's wrap things up with Spirit. And that's Spirit Aerosystems, the Spirit that makes the bodies of airplanes, not the budget airline. And regular listeners, you already know what I'm talking about. It's the Wall Street Journal's Friday report that Boeing is in talks to buy Spirit. These two have been through the ringer lately. thanks to all the 737 MAX quality issues. And they've done a number on Boeing stock, which has lost about 20% since that Alaska Airlines incident on January 5th, when a door plug blew out mid-flight on a Boeing plane. It's my literal nightmare. But Spirit stock hasn't been doing too hot either, given that the company has been struggling financially for years.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:03–0:03
2
How did the market perform on this year’s Leap Day and February gains?
0:03–0:33
3
Why did Domino’s “Emergency Pizza” promotion boost sales and rewards sign-ups?
0:33–1:13
4
What financial results and stock reaction followed Domino’s quarterly report?
1:13–2:02
5
How did Viking Therapeutics’ obesity drug trial compare to Ozempic and tirzepatide?
2:02–2:30
6
Why did Viking’s stock more than double after its mid‑stage study results?
2:30–3:25
7
What’s behind the Boeing–Spirit AeroSystems talks and how did markets react?
3:25–4:53
Speakers
1 identifiedMore from WSJ Your Money Briefing
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